Thank You Goddess

Months ago when I arrived in Thailand, I noticed how every morning the ground around my bungalow was carpeted in fallen frangipanis, my absolute favorite flower.

The more I noticed these flowers the more I saw them everywhere. They covered the streets like offerings of exquisite beauty seemingly unnoticed by the world.

Quite naturally it became my morning ritual to collect these flowers whenever I left home, like precious jewels placing them in my hair, smelling them, kissing them, setting them on my altar, and then offering them to a body of water at the end of the day.

These simple acts brought me SUCH pleasure and happiness.

I eventually brought this flower ritual with me to Bali, in surf towns with pink sand beaches, at lush jungle waterfalls hidden between rice fields, and on the temple lined city streets of Ubud I’d pick up these fallen flowers and carry them with me throughout the day, sometimes singing and offering them to the river sometimes giving them to women I’d pass on the street.

If I ever wondered how someone could fail to see my radiance, I'd look to the stunningly gorgeous flowers who received so little attention at all.

This daily practice has become my way of honoring Lakshmi, the feminine energy representing all of life’s abundant beauty and blessings. When I sing to the flowers, I’m really singing to Lakshmi. When I smell the flowers, I’m really taking in Lakshmi. When I honor the flowers, I’m really honoring Lakshmi.

Perhaps it seems simple, and even childlike, but for me the symbolism is profound.

How often do we pass absolute miracles of nature without even noticing? How often do we ignore the sweetness of life’s bounty that falls at our feet? And how often do we long to be fully seen in OUR unique beauty, without stopping to take in the magic that seems to go unnoticed in the world?

Life gives of itself endlessly through its very existence, asking only for deeper presence to gift you the sweetest perfume.

Like a flower.
Like a woman.
This Earth body.
This Human body.
This treasure.
This Life.

Asking to be received.
Asking to be released.

Whether I’m in the most vibrant jungle or the grayest concrete cage, may my gaze fall upon Lakshmi. May I discover her even in the most unlikely of places. May I notice her in her many disguises. And may I always bow my head and say, “thank you Goddess” trusting one day she will blossom this whole Earth back to life.